Page 40 of Trust My Bodyguard

Brody goes rigid. “Cliff is going to hear that you’ve been a disruptive guest and I’ll make him ban you for life if you don’t shut the fuck up and take your nasty attitude somewhere else.”

Whoa. Even for Brody, that’s wild and chilling. I thought they had something with each other. Nothing? I can’t say I’m mad about that.

Kerianne huffs and struggles to her feet. She throws a sad look toward Brody. He doesn’t ease up on glowering at her. Turning around, she walks down the path, leaving us in a quiet but tense aftermath.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Brody

Ivy whirls on me. “This is all your fault.”

I tear my eyes away from Kerianne’s departing figure and turn to the mouthy woman. “Excuse me?”

Her wavy hair is a rumpled mess around her face and her green eyes blaze with anger. She has never been good at keeping it hidden. I doubt she even tries. Especially when it’s directed at me.

“You know what I mean.” She pokes a finger in my chest. “If you were doing your job, my sister wouldn’t be in danger.”

I grab that little finger and keep it locked away in my fist. That’s the kind of insolence that calls for punishment, and it’s not the kind that should happen in Iris’s or anyone’s presence for that matter. Best to keep her under what modicum of control she canbefore she pushes me into doing something I shouldn’t be doing with a client.

“You were the one who butted your head into the quarrel. If you’d simply stood aside, none of this would have escalated!”

She yanks her hand free and folds it across her chest. “Oh, so are you saying it’s my fault now? Is that what you’re saying, Brody?”

I lift my arms, words on the tip of my tongue but I let them drop with a sigh. There’s no reasoning with Ivy. If she’s made up her mind about some innocuous idea, she holds onto it like it’s the revelation of the century. I’m the villain here and she’ll never let it go.

I’m not one to give in either. It’s a recipe for disaster. I have to shut this down quickly, or else it’ll only escalate.

I turn toward the cabin. “I’m not having this conversation.”

“I am having it.” Ivy plants herself in front of me, arms on her hips.

She thinks she’s gunning for a fight, but she looks like a kitten squaring up to a bear. Her pursed pouty lips and flashing green eyes don’t help her case. The instinct to kiss away her anger is so strong I clench my fists to hold myself back.

“Do you know you’re the most difficult man I have ever had to deal with? Just admit what you’ve done and explain how you’d make sure it doesn’t happen again moving forward, but no, you’re being a…”

I tune her voice out. Kerianne brought her claws out and she wouldn’t rest until she sunk them into someone. Preferably me. But I don’t have to listen to raging. I can retreat to a more peaceful place until she has worn herself out.

My gaze sweeps over her—face to feet. She’d fall easily if I touched her. At first, she would be stunned into silence. Then quickly, she would come to terms with what she’s wanted for so long. Too soon she’d be begging me to fulfill every single dark desire in her head.

“Are even listening to me?” She tilts her head to the side, taking my face in.

“No, not listening.” I shake off the fantasy. “I stopped where the accusations started.”

Her mouth falls open and I brace for the yelling that is to come. She doesn’t disappoint. “You have to do a job, Brody! Your job is to protect Iris. But if you can’t do your job, then this whole arrangement is futile because anyone can get to her,” she says. “I can’t do your job for you.”

My blood boils. I take my job seriously. Kerianne was a non-threat. If I’d interfered earlier, who knows what she’d have said to the press? Who knows what she’d say now that Ivy butted in and escalated a fight? I’m done taking crap from her.

“No one asked you to do a damn thing.” I look down at her. “You should have alerted me when you heard the scuffle and let me deal with it.”

She sticks her chin out. “I’m not going to sit back and allow your woman to bully my sister.”

“Kerianne is not my woman.” Somehow that hurt more than her claims that I’m bad at what I do. I’m an excellent guard. The years in the military have beaten that into me. It’s almost indisputable that even her claims are only a mild annoyance.

Her belief that there’s something between Kerianne and me, on the other hand, is just grating on a personal level. Why would I touch her when I had something with another woman? How could I haveanythingto do with Kerianne?

“Well, she had her hands all over you the first time we met, so I’m assuming she means something to you.”

Oh, so that’s it. I’m surprised she remembers. Is she jealous? “We went to the same high school. That’s the most we have in common.”

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